Across That Bridge: Life Lessons and a Vision for Change

by John Lewis

today: Nothing can stop the power of a committed and determined people to make a difference in our society. Why? Because human beings are the most dynamic link to the divine on this planet.

Freedom is not a state; it is an act. It is not some enchanted garden perched high on a distant plateau where we can finally sit down and rest. Freedom is the continuous action we all must take, and each generation must do its part to create an even more fair, more just society. The work of love, peace, and justice will always be necessary, until their realism and their imperative takes hold of our imagination, crowds out any dream of hatred or revenge, and fills up our existence with their power.

We are one people, one family, the human family, and what affects one of us affects us all.

What is the purpose of a nation if not to empower human beings to live better together than they could individually?

As a nation we evolve by contending with the consequences of our decisions to reach that point where the collective mind is not tempted by injustice.

The most important lesson I have learned in the fifty years I have spent working toward the building of a better world is that the true work of social transformation starts within. It begins inside your own heart and mind, because the battleground of human transformation is really, more than any other thing, the struggle within the human consciousness to believe and accept what is true. Thus to truly revolutionize our society, we must first revolutionize ourselves.

Faith, to me, is knowing in the solid core of your soul that the work is already done, even as an idea is being conceived in your mind. It is being as sure as you are about your dreams as you are about anything you know as a hard fact.

The idea that some people were inherently better was a delusion of the human ego, a distortion of the truth.

“Without patience, we will learn less in life. We will see less. We will feel less. We will hear less. Ironically, rush and more usually mean less.” —MOTHER TERESA

It is only through examining history that you become aware of where you stand within the continuum of change.

The power of his speech was not in the resonance of his voice, the prestige of the platform, or the cadence of his words—it was in the clear truth it articulates.

Many Americans realized that the mere existence of this mandatory discussion across class lines meant black families, even affluent black families, had to face a reality they did not understand. This kernel of information connected to the deep human need to keep their children safe. Because many parents had never had to have “the talk” with their children, they began to grasp how dire the situation was. In this way, protest has been an excellent educational tool.